Precise Biometrics Maintains Focus on Expansion Efforts

“Precise Biometrics’ shift to multimodal biometrics, announced last autumn, has been dubbed “YOUNiQ” and will combine face, fingerprint, iris, and voice biometrics together with location data for user authentication…”

Reporting its fiscal results for the fourth quarter of 2018, the biometric algorithm software specialist says it saw net sales of SEK 13.9 million, down slightly from its sales of about SEK 14.2 million in Q4 of 2017; and it saw an operating loss of about SEK 14.3 million for the latest quarter, compared to an operating loss of about SEK 5.3 million in Q4 of 2017.

Looking to the full year, Precise Biometrics saw an operating loss of about SEK 19.96 million, compared to an operating loss of SEK SEK 13.9 million a year ago. Yet net sales were way up, going from a little over SEK 61 million in 2017 to SEK 67.6 million last year.

Commenting on the results in a statement, CEO Stefan K. Persson acknowledged the ongoing “high volatility in the mobile market”, but emphasized the company’s efforts to expand into new areas. Precise Biometrics’ shift to multimodal biometrics, announced last autumn, has been dubbed “YOUNiQ” and will combine face, fingerprint, iris, and voice biometrics together with location data for user authentication; and it will be trialed with partners in the first half of this year, with a commercial launch planned for the second half.

Biometric payment and smart cards are also an emerging opportunity for Precise Biometrics, with Persson anticipating “modest initial volumes” in the second half of this year, and increased volumes in 2020 and 2021.

Meanwhile, the mobile sector will continue to be Precise Biometrics primary revenue driver this year, with in-display fingerprint scanning that spans a device’s entire screen expected to be launched in H2. That will be an exciting development, but the ongoing volatility in the mobile market could make 2019 “a challenging year from a financial perspective,” Persson said. Nevertheless, Precise Biometrics is proceeding from “a secure financial position,” and improved financial results are anticipated from its more long-term initiatives.